Shared Lives Scheme

Updated 11 January 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 4, 5 and 7 December 2018 and was announced. We informed the provider 48 hours in advance of our visit. This was to ensure there was somebody at the location to facilitate our inspection.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Prior to our inspection, we reviewed information we held about the service, including notifications sent to us at the Care Quality Commission. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. This inspection was informed by the feedback from the local authorities and healthcare professionals.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager and the head of provider services. We looked at the recruitment and monitoring records for four shared lives carers. We also looked at the care records of five people who used the service. We also reviewed the service's accidents and incidents, safeguarding and complaints records, care delivery records and medicines administration records for people using the service.

We carried out visits to two people in their shared lives arrangements with their prior permission. We also spoke with five shared lives carers and six people who used the service. We reviewed the documents that were provided by the registered manager on our request after the inspection. These included policies and procedures, updated risk assessment and a health action plan, and staff training matrix.

Updated 11 January 2019

This inspection took place on 4, 5 and 7 December 2018 and was announced. We informed the provider 48 hours in advance of our visit that we would be inspecting. This was to ensure there was somebody at the location to facilitate our inspection. The service was last inspected in May 2016 where it was rated Good. However, we made two recommendations under well-led domain.

Shared Lives Scheme is a local authority operated service that support adults with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder, a mental health condition and physical disability. People using this service receive care and support by individuals, couples and families who have been approved and trained for that role, and are called shared lives carer. People using the service live with the shared lives carers in their homes. Placements can be long-term with the adult living with the carer as part of their family, or as respite care to provide regular carers with a short break.

At the time of our inspection 30 people were living in long-term shared lives arrangements, some of these people also accessed respite shared lives placements. A total 30 shared lives carers had been appointed and some carers had been approved to care for more than one person.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe with the shared lives carers and trusted them. Risks to people were assessed and mitigated. Shared lives carers were provided with sufficient information to minimise risks to people and provide safe care.

Shared lives carers knew the safeguarding procedures and how to escalate concerns to external parties where necessary. People told us their needs were met by shared lives carers. People were protected from infection and lived in a clean environment. There were enough shared lives carers in place who were suitably recruited to ensure people at risk were safely supported. There were systems in place to learn and share lessons when things went wrong.

People’s needs were assessed before they were matched with shared lives carers. Shared lives carers were knowledgeable about people’s needs and supported them effectively. People were supported to maintain a nutritionally balanced diet and access ongoing healthcare services. Shared lives carers received sufficient support and training to provide effective care. The service provided care in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 principles.

People told us shared lives carers were caring, treated them with dignity and respected their privacy. Shared lives carers supported people with their cultural and religious needs. People were supported to remain as independent as they could.

People’s personalised needs were met by shared lives carers who were knowledgeable about their likes and dislikes. Care plans were detailed, regularly reviewed, and provided information on how to support people. The provider welcomed and encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to use their service. The provider had systems and process to support people with their end of life care needs.

People and shared lives carers knew how to raise concerns and had never had to make a complaint. There was a complaint’s policy and procedure in place to ensure people’s complaints were addressed in a timely manner.

People and shared lives carers spoke positively of the registered manager and shared lives worker. Shared lives carers told us they felt well supported and listened to by the management.

The service had systems and processes in place to monitor and evaluate the quality and safety of the service. The management sought people and shared lives carers’ feedback and worked with other organisations to improve the service.